How would you feel about being able to pay to control multiple aspects of another person’s life? A new app is offering you the chance to do just that.

When writer Brandon Wong recently couldn’t decide what takeaway to order one evening, he asked his followers on social media app NewNew to choose for him.

Those that wanted to get involved in the 24-year-old’s dinner dilemma paid $5 (£3.50) to vote in a poll, and the majority verdict was that he should go for Korean food, so that was what he bought.

“I couldn’t decide between Chinese or Korean, so it was very helpful,” says Mr Wong, who lives in Edmonton, Canada. “I have also used NewNew polls to decide what clothes I should wear that day, and lots of other personal stuff.

“I joined back in March, and I post [polls] three or four times a week. I’ve now had more than 1,700 total votes.”

NewNew is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Courtne Smith. The app, which is still in its “beta” or pre-full release stage, describes itself as “a human stock market where you buy shares in the lives of real people, in order to control their decisions and watch the outcome”.

Source: BBC Technology News

Date: May 26th, 2021

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57085557

Discussion

1. “a human stock market where you buy shares in the lives of real people, in order to control their decisions and watch the outcome”. What might be some of the ethical issues arising from this app?
2. “Business psychologist Stuart Duff, a partner at UK firm Pearn Kandola, says that NewNew sounds fun, and should “create special bonds between creators and their followers” . What are some of the issues with “special bonds”?